Saturday, November 17, 2007

One of the most intriguing questions I receive about my low-carb lifestyle is the following: "Do you ever cheat on your diet?" The question behind the question is always a lot more revealing than the question itself. I suppose what people are asking is, "Will I EVER get to eat bread, pasta, rice, sugar, and all those other high-carb foods anymore once I start livin' la vida low-carb?" My answer will probably surprise a lot of people--YES!

Now before you go off on a tangent thinking Jimmy Moore has lost his rocker on this, hear me out. One lesson I've learned from my experience losing 180 pounds on the Atkins diet is that food is meant to be enjoyed, not obsessed over. Too many people when they go on a "diet" try to micromanage their menu so much that they drive themselves and everyone around them absolutely bonkers. That's no way to live.

So why not allow an indulgence on your low-carb lifestyle, especially as you are losing weight, as a way to reward yourself for being committed. This is a controversial strategy because not everyone agrees with it, but I discuss my reasons for supporting it in Episode 14 of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube."

Check out this YouTube video for a perfect reason to cheat on your diet:

I make it very clear in Episode 14 that this strategy is not for everyone and I specifically warn those who feel like they will lose control of their low-carb lifestyle if they eat even one meal off plan. That's cool and I support your efforts to do what's right for YOU. But for some people who are able to use this as a motivator for staying accountable the 6-8 weeks between "planned splurge" meals, this could very well be the missing element in your successful weight management program.

Let me say it loud and proud here right now: going off plan for the weekends, an entire day, or even one meal a month is NOT (I repeat NOT) what I'm talking about here. That is merely setting yourself up for failure and I do not support anyone who is serious about losing weight and keeping it off to do that. But perhaps you have tried having one meal every couple of months and it's worked for you. Provide your feedback at Episode 14 at YouTube to let us know about your experience with this.

Need to catch up on all our YouTube videos? Here's a complete listing just for you:

- Promo video--A half-minute promotion of the new video series- Episode 1--Introduction of Jimmy & Christine Moore- Episode 2--What kind of fruits can you have on a low-carb diet?- Episode 3--What kind of veggies can you have on a low-carb diet?- Episode 4--What does a low-carber do for something sweet?- Episode 5--Why is fat so healthy for you on the low-carb lifestyle?- Episode 6--Which restaurants can you go to on the low-carb lifestyle?- Episode 7--What are the best new low-carb books you need to read?- Episode 8--Why should you be eating a lot more eggs?- Episode 9--If you're gonna do Atkins, do it by the book- Episode 10--What supplements should you take while low-carbing?- Episode 11--What are some of the foods you eat on your low-carb diet?- Episode 12--How should you respond when you weight loss stalls?- Episode 13--What can you do to survive the high-carb holidays?

I found this RSS feed for our YouTube videos this week and you can still subscribe to our videos so you can keep up with all the new ones we record about the healthy low-carb lifestyle. Christine and I love it when you provide us feedback, so please send your comments and suggestions for us at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. THANK YOU for helping us make our YouTube videos better and better as we educate, encourage, and inspire the wonderful world of YouTube with the positive message of livin' la vida low-carb!

8 Comments:

You want what you can't have and most likely if you deny yourself you are going to binge on it when you do give in. So I think your approach to cheating is just fine for those that can pull it off.

BTW, Have you ever read Rob Stevens and his OverHead Fed approach? http://www.thintuition.com/thintuition.php?section_id=7His concept is that thin people eat what they want when they want it. The catch is that they only eat when they are hungry and stop when they are satiated.

THANK YOU JIMMY! So many times, the 'joy' of eating Thanksgiving Dinner, for instance, is seen in the LC world as a terrible failure..if the 'planned splurge' is kept to one meal, I agree with you; it can be very rewarding. I SO appreciate your human-ness!

This concept sounds great, Jimmy! I know when I quit smoking, sometimes I still wanted to smoke, so I went and found no nicotine cigarettes and would smoke them when the desire to smoke would hit me. Granted, it still wasn't good for me, however I knew the nicotine wasn't going to get me again, and I felt better about the whole thing. A couple years ago I was cleaning my bookshelf and I found a pack of these non nicotine cigs on top of the shelf that must've been there for about 2 years prior. I had forgotten all about them! So, just like your planned splurges seemed to have lessened over the years, the smoking thing lessened also.

when I go on vaction, or even just out of town, I go on a hog-wild cheat frenzy... ice cream... pizza. .. chips... cookies... pastries... fritos!... cheeseburgers on a bun... with fritos!... and french fries, mmmmmmmmmm gooody gooody good goood goood!

When it's time to come home, I'm usually feeling like crap, and looking forward to eating better. And it usually takes about a week or two to loose the weight gained and everything is back to normal!

But lately I've been doing IF on a daily basis, something called fast-5. I've found that I can cheat more often and get away with it, if I want to. Which is nice, but most of the time I don't really want to cheat.

This is one post with which I'd disagree. My own idea of a 'splurge' is, for example, having no other carbs on a particular day so that I can eat a peach or pear. The sort of splurge described here could be disastrous for some of us.

In my own case, though I've only lost a little over 60 pounds and am in a frustrating plateau, one of the blessings of low carb is that it tends to remove cravings and excessive hunger. Carbs (grains, sugar) make me so intensely hungry that I'd never want to stimulate myself with their use.

I have never found that eliminating those foods made me 'feel deprived.' All I'm 'deprived' of is being ravenous.

Even one splurge meal can throw one out of ketosis. It's also possible, in my experience, that, if one has a high carb food one likes immensely, the cravings will be under control if the carbs are avoided - but eating it, even on a rare occasion, can make one want it all week or longer.

During both my 50 plus lb weight loss, and the two plus years maintaining it so far, I have taken every Sunday as my free day. It has been a cornerstone of my program. On that one day a week, I eat as much as I want of anything I want, all day long.

Far from impeding my progress, if anything it accellerated it. IMO, the biggest mistake people make when trying to lose weight is NOT taking that free day.

Feeding the dragon occasionally could be benifical and it could just as well be a 'prolonging' the agony type of thing. I try to choose abstence from my addictions. I have cured tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, gambling, caffeine, sugar, and now carbohydrate adiction this way. Zero, none. The carbohydrates I give exception to a few vegetables and wild rice in less than often times and not so large of protions. Pickles for instance I eat a lot of. I believe there is something to be said for those of us that have cured addictions. I feel like I have done the impossible and it was not as a group but individually that I slayed all these dragons. I fed none of them. I feel great and I know for a fact that I am miles away from where I was. Meat and eggs and water and pickles for weeks and months at a time and during long hard hours of work with only enough sleep to go with it. So to those who choose to 'tame' and occasionally feed there addiction I wish a lot of luck. I think most of you will need it. -- To those who choose to slay the dragon like I and many others have, I congradulate you like I congradulate myself. I know it was hard earned. The who's right in this and if there is a right is an unknown. I don't nessessarily follow the 'everybody's different' approach. I think that we are more alike than differant. My spelling machine is broke. I aplolagise. I'm really stupid you know and trying to sound smart. That is said in jest. I may well be briliant and gifted. That may come closer. You decide. No matter what rthe facts are slowly surfacing, thats the good thing, no matter where they come from. Best, Tom

I "allow" myself popcorn at the movie theatre! Now, if I went to the movies more than once every 2-3 months, I might not do that... but for me it's effective. I'm sooooo happy with my nearly 100# weight loss that has been kept off (except for a 2 month period of trying to eat carbs "in moderation" and gaining 15#!!!) for over a year, that I'm not willing to risk what for me is a trigger of an addiction. I know when I eat my popcorn that I'll pay for it in hunger the next day, but I'm prepared for that, as well as the water weight gain from the carbs.

I think we all need to be aware of what works for us, and that that may not work for everyone! It's like the alcholics: some to recover have to stop drinkning all-together, and some are sucessufl drinking in moderation... and the two groups gripe at each other all the time!